White Fury
by Solasuke
Summary: Spoilers if you have not read beyond manga 350 or have not seen anime 271. Story about how the new hollow form that fights Ulquiora was created. Dark Ichigo and Ichigo fight, train, help and discover that they are not so different. NOT YAOI.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first Fanfic in a while. I decided to create it simply because I have felt an increasing urge to do something creative combined with a sense of wanting more of things out there. I could have done zelda, naruto, or cowboy Bebop the first and latter being the ones with the least material available and especially cowboy Bebop, a shame that it ended so soon... But enough of a nostalgic author's tirade, time to begin my first Bleach Fanfic ;)**

Note:*SPOILERS* Manga 350/anime 271 This story takes place in the period of time that Ichigo is 'dead' because of Ulquiora's cero wound through his chest.

White Fury

_In the depths of what some might call hell, two warriors clash under a moonlit sky. The barren desert stretching for untold miles is rudely broken by the huge dome that is Las Noches. Before the weeping crescent, a black power blots out the sky and silences the other..._

_Drifting clouds in a windless sky. The soft pang of emptiness fills the ocean of blue, as an invisible sun casts its light on the vast city of horizontal skyscrapers. And in the centre of it all, lies the broken body of a man. His name is Ichigo Kurosaki._

'Ichigo.... get up Ichigo...' as everything blurred into focus, Ichigo was aware of the somber figure in black standing over him.

'There isn't much time Ichigo,' Zangetsu continued,' Your life is in peril, and I cannot stave off your death for long...'

'Zangetsu-san, why am I here? We were fighting Ulquiora!' Ichigo exclaimed.

'He has killed you...I do not even know why we can still converse, not even I should be able to manage this...'

'Maybe I can explain...partner!'

'You! What's going on?'

'Wowowowow slow down there, first of all you should be saying thank you to the person who's just saved your life partner!'

Ichigo merely glared.

'Ok ok, well the reason you are still able to talk is because of me. When Ulquiora gave you that hole, it killed you instantly. But I'm not gonna take that from anyone so I saved us. Normally I would not have anywhere near the amount of power to prevent death, but that hole he created acts as a conduit for my power because of two fundamental things. That hole was created by a hollow and because I happen to be one. What most people don't know is that a hollow's hole is a major power provider, absorbing reishi and focusing their energies. Without it, a hollow's powers would be severely limited resulting in a reiatsu drop of at least 50%. So now with my power more than doubled I can essentially take over and leave you in this inner world, keeping us alive...'

'But I can't stay here! I need to protect my friends and-'

'And what? Die instantly from the gaping hole in your chest?'

'You can heal it! I know you can!'

'So you can die from a more permanent wound? One that even I can't fix?'

Ichigo was upon silent seeing his white double's logic.

'So what do you want?'

'What would I want from you, partner?'

'Don't pretend! I can see it all over your smug face!'

'I'll give it to you straight. The only person who would stand a chance against Ulquiora here is me. But even with my powers doubled...'

'What do you want already?'

'I need you to unlock my next mask. Unfortunately, my mask evolves when you get stronger. Because when you get stronger, so do I.'

Ichigo paused for a minute considering what he had just taken in. After a sigh he asked,

'What do I have to do?'

'Now that's more like it partner!'

Ichigo stood, newly healed, facing his white counterpart upon the gleaming surface of the tower. The impassive figure of Zangetsu surveyed the scene.

'What do you want now?' Ichigo asked.

'I want to pit myself against you...King. Remember I never agreed to save your friends once I was free, or even kill Ulquiora. If you can prove to me you are still worthy of being King, I'll beat that arrancar. Lets go partner! Show me what you've got!'

Letting out a war cry Ichigo, charged wielding his obsidian sword.

As he ran, he formed a claw shape with his hand above his face in a swift ripping motion, but was surprised when his mask did not materialize.

'You think I'd let you use my own powers against me?'

Ichigo swung his sword, but it was swiftly parried by it's white self. The Two Ichigos exchanged a dazzling display of swordsmanship before jumping apart.

'Looks like I drew first blood..' dark Ichigo murmured,

Ichigo's eyes widened as blood began to seep from a shallow cheek wound on his face. He narrowed his eyes before yelling

'Getsuga Tensho!'

Dark Ichigo struck it out of his way with a lazy parry,

'Let me return the favor'

Without saying anything he unleashed a Getsuga 3 times the size of Ichigo's. Ichigo used shunpo to get out of the way but gasped when the blast turned and followed him, tearing out huge chunks of the building as it followed. Ichigo tried to slow it with his own getsugas but to no avail. Dark Ichigo just laughed and rushed to meet him, slashing him along the side. Ichigo jumped back swung a Getsuga at the hollow, who raised his sword to block it, but as he did so Ichigo shunpoed behind him and swung his blade with a Getsuga bound to it. Grunting slightly with the effort Dark Ichigo complemented, 'Not bad, something original for once.' Locked together, the two strained, but as Dark Ichigo began to win, the first Getsuga he swung slammed into his exposed back, smashing him downwards, into the tower. Ichigo shunpoed behind Dark Ichigo with his sword against his throat.

'Give up'

Dark Ichigo replied by slamming his elbow into Ichigo sending him flying back and then followed it up by raising his sword and began to charge a cero, but before he could fire it, Zangetsu disarmed Dark Ichigo in an instant, catching his blade.

'Ichigo has proven himself to be worthy of retaining his title as King. You gain nothing carrying on.'

'Aw old man, did you have to ruin the fun?'

'Did I prove myself?' Ichigo panted limping up to the other two.

'You've done enough' Zangetsu replied.

'So can I go unlock this mask now?'

'No partner,' answered Dark Ichigo,' you aren't strong enough yet. First, you must train.'

'With who?'

'Who d'you think partner?'

**AN: Well there you have it. By the way for those unsure, I made up stuff about Hollow's holes. Also the reason Zangetsu says I cannot stave off your death etc. even though Dark Ichigo says he is doing it is because they are one entity in a way but with two consciousnesses and… yeah its confusing. Any other questions just pm me. Remember More Reviews = faster updating :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Ok, after a pleasing response from you guys, I'm starting the next chapter :) **

The black figure of Zangetsu stood at the very edge of the tallest skyscraper, crouched next to him, the deathly white hollow starkly contrasted against the billowing ragged edges of Zangetsu's coat.

'Do you think he can do it?'

'I have confidence in my wielder'

'That's more than me then...'

The conversation lapsed as the two watched the clouds roll down.

'I wish there was more green...'

again silence.

'You're awful quiet y'know? Nothing like our loud mouthed King'

'You are one to make such a statement...Hichigo Shirosaki'

'Don't you call me by that stupid nickname! And I am nothing like that bumbling fool!'

'Take heed of my words, you two have your fates inextricably bound. It would not do to antagonize each other.'

'Whatever...where is he anyway? You'd think you'd spot that ginger hair anywhere...'

I have put him in a state of rest, for even if the body does not tire here, the mind will.'

'Neat...'

The two passed the rest of the night in silence, the only thing distinguishing it from the day being the subtle weakening of light.

'Where am I?' Ichigo wondered. A rolling mass of storm colored clouds held him suspended in the center of a cocoon.

'Do not fear Ichigo, I have merely taken you to a place of healing and rest for the mind and soul.'

'Zangetsu-san?'

'You may leave simply by willing yourself to your inner world'

Slowly the clouds parted and Ichigo was faced by the looming figure of Zangetsu.

'What was that?'

'Do not concern yourself with that. Only know that you may return to rest in much the same way you arrived here just now'

'Ok... Where is he?'

'Hichigo Shirosaki is-'

'OI I SAID DO NOT CALL ME THAT!'

'Wha-? Hahahahahahahaha!'

'Listen you little punk, if you ever call me that, I'll smash your lights out!'

'And if you ever harm my master I shall discipline you most firmly'

'Wowow calm down there, I wasn't serious!' sweat dropped Shirosaki.

'Hey guys, can we get a move on?'

'Don't tell me what to do partner!'

'I'm king ain't I?'

'I'm gonna save your sorry ass!'

'Not without my help you ain't!'

'And who's training you?'

'In whose inner world?'

'SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!'

'Yes Zangetsu-san' the doubles chimed.

'Stupid hollow, as if a copy of me could be better than the real thing' Ichigo muttered.

'Just who is copying who, -Getsuga-bankai?'

'Enough, you're both above this! We don't have the time to waste... for all we know it maybe too late to save Inoue and Ishida, so quit messing around!'

'So when does training start?'

'It starts now partner!'

They stood facing each other from across a gap between buildings, the air heavy with reiatsu.

'First, we're gonna work on how you control your spiritual energy. You don't realize what a tremendous resource you have there. You've learned to use it to stabilize and reinforce your zanpakuto. But aside from that, its doing nothing. You need to learn to use it to boost your attacks, speed and defense, cause you are fighting at about half the level you should be. And can I ask, if your bankai is mainly speed, WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE JUST AS FAST? Seriously Ichigo, a bankai is usually the last defense of a shinigami, you're lucky to have me.'

A mixture of shock and admittance flitted across Ichigo's face.

'So what do I need to do?'

'Close your eyes and find the source of your power within you.'

After several minutes Ichigo said, 'I got nothing.'

'That's cause you already are within you, you dumb git.'

'Oh yeah' Ichigo blushed. Once again, Ichigo withdrew from the world and after a moment he became conscious of his surroundings in a different way. Once he had opened his mind on another level, he was astounded by the sheer _activity _that was going on around him. The long skyscrapers they stood were literally pillars of light. Swirling gusts of sparkling dust navigated unknown currents, billowing and weaving in an intricate design. And spread throughout it all, a black lighting with a red aura crackled and sparked, shooting out jolts of raw power. It was unlike anything Ichigo had ever seen.

'You see those sparks? Each one is equivalent to the amount of spiritual pressure you emit throughout a day. And you see those paths that once in a while, one shoots off to? That is the path to emitting it. Of course nothing is coming out of your body at the moment, I'm absorbing all that power and it's helping me keep you alive. Now, what you need to do is consciously control that power, you'll never be able to use it all at once or you'll die, but you should be able to manage at least half of that power. Don't worry it will recharge within a few days. So to start, go into bankai.'

Ichigo focused his mind and drew on the power to enter bankai. Around him, the lightening flared and once again Ichigo was dressed in the familiar attire of Bankai.

'Good, now onto phase 2, GETSUGA TENSHO!' Immediately Shirosaki, who had entered bankai without Ichigo noticing, started firing a flurry of small getsugas.

'They're a lot more powerful than they look, so don't try and parry. They're much more powerful than your bankai getsugas, they're faster, and of course, they home in. Better start dodging!'

The getsugas had all nearly crossed the gap between buildings and had begun to converge on Ichigo.

'_Better start moving.'_

But as Ichigo, used his speed to rapidly, the getsugas had swiftly changed course to come at him and were gaining swiftly.

_'Aw crap!'_

Again and again Ichigo tried to flee but he was starting to slip and he begun to find himself trapped in the middle of a swarm of miniature getsugas.

Suddenly the voice of Zangetsu echoed in his mind, 'Ichigo, you must draw more power. Focus this energy at your feet and then experiment with your speed.'

'Whatever you say old man.'

Once again Ichigo found the power and willed several of the sparks towards him. He opened his eyes and found himself infused with energy. Suddenly, the getsugas appeared to be moving slower, so he carefully sped around each one and landed in front of Hichigo and released the power.

'So you did pay attention to me earlier. Very well, now we're gonna practice for the rest of today, until you can do it instinctively.

The rest of the day was spent training exhaustively, and by the end a thick sheen of sweat covered the two drained rivals.

'You... did well..' panted Shirosaki

'...thanks' replied a surprised Ichigo, he looked again at Shirosaki as if to check if he missed something.

'...what are you staring at partner?'

'Nothing' Ichigo quickly replied.

Hichigo looked at him quizzically before dismissing any notions he had.

The two headed back to the central building that was the unspoken headquarters where they met Zangetsu.

'I think I'll be going for the night guys'

'very well'

'see ya partner'

Gradually, after Ichigo faded from view, the two ambled to their usual spot where they spent the night.

When night had gained a firm hold over the realm Zangetsu inquired,

'How did you find the session?'

'It went better than I expected I suppose'

'Do you believe now he will make it in time before your...'

'Yes I suppose, funnily enough, I have faith now...'.

'This pleases me'

'Me too old man'

And the two watched the swirling galaxies of the sparkling dust blow out across the sky, creating a northern light effect over the world, till morning came.

**AN:** **There we are folks chap 2 ;)! This was fairly difficult to write at first but I'm glad it began to flow after I started. I decided to call Ichigo's inner hollow that simply cause it wasn't gonna work if I kept calling him the dark Ichigo. I'm fairly pleased with this ;) R&R guys! Any questions feel free to ask.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Several times have I come back to this story since my last update, I hadn't forgotten about ****fanfic****, don't worry. Unfortunately a number of combined circumstances meant this large delay, and though I would like to say future updates will be more regular, I can't guarantee it, and if anything, this entire coming year will be quite difficult for me to find time to continue at a good pace, but do not fear, this story shall progress. Another thing that is off putting is the continuation of the manga, which has now thrown, in an unexpected contradiction, which I will try and rectify in this chapter. To anyone who is not up to date with the manga, this story will contain some spoilers, however they will not reveal the plot, but enough said. I was going to cut this chapter short at 800 words, but I felt I owed it to you to write a more substantial amount. Now then, I hope this satisfies you, enjoy!**

A cluster of bruised storm clouds swirl enigmatically around the sleeping figure of Ichigo Kurosaki. Sleep gave Ichigo a peaceful, calm look. Shame it was about to be broken.

"Gah!" Ichigo exclaimed, having been given the pleasure of smacking down onto the hard glass from several metres high.

"Get up Ichigo!" cackled Shirosaki, swinging his pure white blade in a savage arc.

Ichigo struggled to parry and regain footing before quickly releasing his bankai. The exchanging of blows continued at a tremendous rate, reaching speeds so high, thousands of flickering after images filled the sky.

"So you can remember longer than 3 seconds, I'm impressed you've retained yesterday's training."

"Shut up, Hichigo"

"For that, you will die by my blade"

Unbelievably, the speed of the skirmish increased further, until only a blur of white and black accompanied the clash of steel upon steel. The battle halted. The point of each Tensa Zangetsu was suspended against his opponent's chest.

"It seems you're learning partner, but that was simple swordplay. Why don't we introduce the Getsuga Tensho?"

"Fine by me"

The battle was renewed with equal fervor, but with a difference. No more was Hichigo's swordplay calculated and cold, but mindless, berserker style. Swinging his sword wildly with no apparent care for self-defence, he flung Getsuga's at dangerously close ranges, before flying right behind them with his signature manic grin. Faced with this onslaught, Ichigo was forced onto the defensive, firing his own getsugas, which were lamely swallowed up by his counterpart's swift compact ones. Soon the sky was filled with giant black arcs, the majority swiftly converging on Ichigo. Ichigo began to panic at the fast approaching crescents, and urging himself mentally, he desperately tried to flee in order to avoid, the speeding projectiles. Traveling exceedingly fast, he managed to escape the ring of converging scythes. But the battle was taking its toll on the vizard. It was painfully obvious to him that his movements were slowing and his Getsugas were all but useless in the face of Hichigo's massive arcs. Sweat dripped down Ichigo's face caught in the light of the sunless sky. Ichigo closed his eyes and opened their spiritual counterparts. He quickly found the Hichigo's Getsuga Tenshos, all heading rapidly for him. He gave a quick intake of breath as he saw their structure, an intricate network of swirling black currents. They each sliced through the air, _absorbing reishi as they flew, _building power and speed. And from each, a thin strand of Hichigo's spiritual power connected them to the tip of his pure white sword.

"_So that's how he does it!"_

Replicating the formulae in his mind, he drew back his sword to swing, but before he did he had a thought. Amassing his spiritual power he poured more into the Getsuga than Hichigo's compacter ones, until he felt there was a sizable amount of energy within his blade. So much power was contained within his daito that it vibrated with the sheer force, jarring his arms slightly.

"Yaaaaaaaahhh!" Ichigo yelled and swung his obsidian blade towards Hichigo. As if creating a rent in the very fabric of his world, so ploughed the giant Getsuga through buildings and swallowing the other Getsuga's into its incredible bulk. Ichigo strained and sweated in keeping the Getsuga under control, as it twisted and turned to its target. It felt like he was trying to rein a wild stallion, only a hundred times lager.

For the first time that day Hichigo's face fell, and he gulped at the prospect of tackling such raw energy. However wasting no time he leaped to face it, sword held in two hands. Leaping high off the building he focused his mind and cleaved the Getsuga in two, but instead of the two halves passing by him, they bent inwards as if forced by gravity and rapidly flowed into the tip of his sword. Hichigo sweated and grit his teeth at the seemingly endless stream of darkness. But at last, he had taken the entire Getsuga into his katana. Loosening his grip he half fell to his knees as an intense wave of exhaustion passed over him. Ichigo meanwhile, felt depleted from the effort and swayed, his sword tip lowered. " That's enough for now." A young man's voice rang out.

Ichigo raised his head in confusion, not recognising the voice he heard.

"Well, I didn't expect this for sure!" Exclaimed Hichigo landing on Ichigo's building.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

The young man simply stood there, his dark, raggedy cloak and hair blowing out in a very similar manner. "Answer me!"

The young man taking slow steps towards Ichigo replied,

"My name is Tensa Zangetsu and I am your Zanpackto."

"No way, that can't be. You said your true form was in Bankai as my daito." Ichigo protested.

"Incorrect, the daito is my true form in your world. But the thing is, you've never come down here properly in bankai. When you did yesterday, I manipulated my energies to disguise my form to you so as not to distract you from your goals, but it has become difficult, and somewhat unnecessary now. From now on, as long as you are in bankai, this is how I shall appear to you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Ichigo, you impress me. You took the initiative and analysed the structures of my getsugas. Not only that you built upon it and made yours powerful enough to successfully take out all of mine, and you forced me to take it out myself. My final verdict? NEVER DO IT AGAIN! You left yourself completely open! If you had let that thing out of your control, not only would it wipe out anything within a one hundred meter radius, it left you completely exhausted and so open to attack from anything. The only reason, I didn't just slice you up, was because I happen to live in this here world, so I would like to have something to stand on."

"What? How can you say that! I wasn't completely open! I had everything under control! And if someone had come after me I would just fire another getsuga at them!" Hichigo merely shook his head and sniggered at the ginger's brash statement.

"The second you fired another getsuga, your first would break out of control, destroying everything in them vicinity, not to mention that you would be too exhausted to get away. No you still need more training with your bankai."

"So when do we start"

"NOW!" Yelled Hichigo and Tensa Zangetsu unanimously.

Endless hours blurred into days of the same routine. Get up, fight, sleep. It was a draining existence to Ichigo, and it was taking a toll on his stamina and determination. His body was constantly on overdrive reacting to his two opponents moves in split second instances. He could barely turn without having to fight back an avalanche of blows. But despite the injuries and mental fatigue, he could tell he was improving. No longer was he battling just to fend off attacks, but he had improved his strategy, upped his speed, and drastically improved his firepower. After one particular training session he asked Tensa Zangetsu,

"Is it just me or are these buildings getting bigger? I also can't seem to see where we fought yesterday, its like it never happened."

"It's because," replied Tensa solemnly," You're improving Ichigo, just as you should be."

And the training went on.

It was one day suddenly, when Ichigo prepared to fight, but the other two did not draw their blades.

"Well come on, attack me!"

"Ichigo," Zangetsu replied, "We have trained you as much as we can for now"

"Yeah, its time to get that mask."

"Well that's great!" Ichigo smiled, perhaps for the first time since arriving.

"But not today." They both chimed.

"What? How come? I'm ready, aren't I? You have to let me do this, we're on a time limit remember?"

"Ichigo," Zangetsu sighed," Look at yourself. You are covered in bandages, and you are exhausted to such a point that one night of sleep won't give you a full recovery. No take today and tonight to heal and rest. Besides, you won't be getting anywhere without our guidance, so just accept it."

"No I can't accept that. How can I sit and do nothing while my friends could be killed because I'm not there to protect them? How am I supposed to rest easy knowing that they could die at any second? That's why I have to start now, I've got no choice!"

"Ichigo!" Hichigo yelled "I may be just a hollow, but even I can see that you'll be no use to anyone, not least your friends, in your current condition! Did you want to throw away our last hope by rushing in, already half beaten? So shut the hell up, and get some rest!"

Shock and confusion marked Ichigo's face, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"That was… impossible. How can a hollow show that much emotion? There's no way he cares about what happens to my friends. He's probably just trying to convince me to rest. Yeah, nothing but self interest and personal gain… that's why he wants me to rest." But looking out across the open blue sky, Ichigo knew firmly in his heart, that that was what he would do.

**AN: Wow, this chapter is finally done! I feel like I've reached the point where the real journey begins. I hope everyone is happy the way things turned out. I want to ask, does everyone feel the ****characterisation**** is accurate? If there's anything you think I should improve please let me know. Now please spare the time to review guys :)**


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait, I didn't forget about this story. It was always nagging at the back of my mind that I needed to pick it up again. I will say that I've had a good chunk of it done since pretty much I uploaded last but, I didn't finish it off then because of a lack of response from you guys! Though thanks to everyone who did review. To those who joined last chapter thanks for any reviews, you really made me want to write but unfortunately I was otherwise occupied. But I vowed that the next subscriber or review would make me write, so all in all, the moral of the story is moar reviews = less waiting :p

Lying suspended in midair, Ichigo's soft, troubled brown eyes gazed at the formless purple clouds, continually tumbling around and swirling at his feet. A permanent scowl marred his strong features. Indeed his thoughts somewhat resembled the clouds around him.

"_Please be ok Inoue, Ishida. I'm sorry I can't be there to protect you, but I swear, I will save you no matter what it takes. Just _please _be ok!"_

Forcing himself out of his inner torments, Ichigo exhaled in a long and steady fashion and willed himself to his inner world. He found his two counterparts standing a short distance away from him. Silently, they beckoned him to follow, and immediately they shunpoed and sonidoed away. Releasing his Bankai, he tore after them, raising a small gust after him. He followed the two, for what seemed like hours, unnoticed, the skyscraper plains passed below him.

"_I wonder where they're taking me…" _As if they had heard his thoughts the two suddenly stopped. He glanced down and was shocked by what he saw. A large crater had smashed its way down into the dense population of skyscrapers, and in the centre, a crackling dome of red-edged black energy shot off lightning bolts in all directions, sparking and cracking, as if alive. Ichigo looked questioningly at the other two, searching for an explanation. The two stood facing the crater in a somber silence, their hair whipped back by the silent gusting wind, emanating from the black hole. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Ichigo cautiously slid down the side of the enormous crater, but when he tried to stop, he found he was being sucked in by a gusting force. Thrusting Tensa Zangetsu into the rocky ground below, he slowly slid to a halt. As he did, the suction force seemed to dissipate, leaving the low growling of the dark orb. Approaching it cautiously on foot, Ichigo found it was a truly an enormous structure, more than five times his height and a good fifty metres in diameter.

"_What is this thing? It looks like its made of the same stuff as my getsuga tenshos, but it seems a lot denser and... alive?"_

Raising Tensa Zangetsu in a double-handed grip, slowly he sank the tip into the ominous mass. It was like a million watts was flowing into him, but oddly enough he felt no pain, only immense power seemed to surge through him, making his hairs stand on end. Ichigo drew his blade back and examined its obsidian surface for any sign of damage, but the blade merely winked in the sunlight. Raising his hand, he examined the section of black in front of him. It continued sparking and cracking black bolts, taking no notice of the figure before it. Summoning his courage, Ichigo plunged his hand into the roiling mass. Instantly the flow of energy currents were all the sensations he could feel, his mind was rapidly fired along all the connections of his spiritual network, and he could feel the sheer power that radiated out along every coursing artery of power. This numbing information and awareness made Ichigo struggle to remember his goals, his values and even his sense of self, so great was the raw intensity of this power. Out of the fuzzy throbbing of power, Ichigo felt sharp pain along his arms and shoulders, and with a painful wrench, as if thrown out of the structure, he crashed into the hard wall of the crater.

"Oops, y'think we pulled to hard?" Hichigo sweat dropped.

"So you can talk! Care to tell me where the hell we are?

Tensa Zangetsu and Hichigo immediately grew serious, when at last Tensa spoke, it was with a heavy tone.

"I'm afraid this is where I must say goodbye Ichigo"

"What? Why?"

"That dome there is the core of your power, of your vary existence, it is what links all of your spiritual self together, by that I mean with Shirosaki and I. But it is also a gateway, and where you will be going I cannot venture."

"But why can't you guys come with me?" A disturbing grin spread across Hichigo's parodied features, making an a sick twisted mockery of Ichigo's grin.

"Who said anything about me not going?"

"He's right" Tensa cut in, "He'll accompany you, he has to otherwise this would not work, but while he is there, someone must keep your body from death, and so it must be me that stays. In any case, it would not be good for me to head there anyway.

"Can you please explain where 'there' is?" Ichigo exasperated.

A deathly silence chilled the normally bright atmosphere. Slowly raising his cold, gleaming eyes, as if looking through Ichigo's soul, the hollow at last spoke,

"Why, we're heading to my word partner.

Standing before the dark dome, the doubles gazed into its turbulent depths. It seemed to pulse more vibrantly with their focus, sending a light wind through there hair.

"So how do we en- woaah"

A sharp violent shove, drove Ichigo headfirst into the hemisphere, breaking its smooth surface.

Strangely, Ichigo found he could see out into his inner world, though slightly distorted, as if underwater.

He scowled at the wild grinning face of Hichigo, the last image that filled his sight before he was pulled down into the darkening depths, losing sight of his inner sanctuary perhaps forever.

Hichigo stood grinning into the hemisphere as he watched Ichigo flail down into the hemispheres depths. Quickly, Tensa materialized next to Hichigo,

"You know what needs to be done?"

"Yeah of course Tensa-san, I can handle it all."

"Don't be rash Hichigo, you know how close you came to losing everything last time you changed mask. They haven't forgotten you know."

"And I haven't forgotten _them _either" spat Hichigo venomously "No, I'm more than ready to get my vengeance. After all, my power has grown exponentially since our last unfortunate encounter."

"You shouldn't get arrogant when it comes to facing them down there again, that's what led to your downfall last time."

"Oh I wasn't just talking about myself, after all, I have Ichigo with me now…" He trailed off as if to emphasise this.

"You really do surprise me Hichigo, I would never have thought you believed in him that much…"

"Shut up! I'm just using him for my own gain, so get back to keeping this body safe!" Raged Hichigo, truly feeling the rage building up inside him.

"When it comes to it Hichigo, I know you'll do what it takes to protect Ichigo."

Hichigo grunted angrily, before striding into the dark hemisphere, leaving a bemused Tensa Zangetsu behind him._ "I believe in you too Hichigo…"_.

Swiftly leaving the crater behind him, Tensa shunpoed to his customary skyscraper, sitting down towards the east to meditate on Ichigo's perilous body.

**AN: And that's it guys. I look forward to hearing your, I'm sure numerous, replies lol**

**Quick check: Is everything consistent with the other chapters? Also, as for chapter length, I want to write more for you guys, but do you want longer chapters? The only real reason I haven't is that the chapters seem to end naturally for me at the points they do and I don't want to waffle in a load. But anyway thanks for reading, and I'll maybe have a Christmas update if there are a enough responses.**

**Merry Christmas**

**Solasuke**


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